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This week's TV Q&A responds to no questions, instead running a hodgepodge of submissions from the past nine months.
Some pose unanswerable questions, others ask no question and simply rant, a few contain questions whose answers would be of interest only to the person asking the question and still others are incomprehensible or just plain mean. I'll leave it to readers to decide which are which.
As always, thanks for reading, and keep those questions coming. The regular TV Q&A returns next week.
-- Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor
Q: Is Rachel Maddow really a woman or is "she" Dame Edith in disguise?
-- Tom, Mt. Lebanon
Q: I read the query on "Life on Mars" -- assuming it was a sci-fi show, I never watched it -- however I may be wrong and the title may have misled me and many others. Sometimes just the title or the music can lead a person to reject what may be a good show. My late father would not watch "Frasier" because of the song that ended the show. And science friction rubs me the wrong way!
-- Tom, Mt. Lebanon
Q: On "CSI" why has Laurence Fishburne been allowed to repeatedly mispronounce our state of Nevada? This would not happen in real life without others around him being annoyed enough by this to correct him. It is pronounced neh-VAD-uh ('a' as in dad).
-- Bob, 47, Las Vegas, Nevada
Q: My wife is a big fan of "The Closer" and I enjoy it too. Tonight for the first eight minutes they were running credits and, on the right side of the screen, a promo for "Saving Grace." They seem to have more producers than a hen house. My point is that I found this so distracting I missed some of the story line. Perhaps I'm too easily distracted but what are they thinking? Either they are too dumb to know this or perhaps just have contempt for their viewers.
-- Don, 73, Pittsburgh
Q: In the early 1990s, I watched a "strange, but true" program. It was about a young boy in Missouri whose dog fell down into a "new" hole in their field. His father went down into the hole after the dog and when they pulled him out, he had gone completely insane. What was this program?
-- Landa, 60, Tulsa, Okla.
Q: In watching "The Sound of Music" this weekend, I was wondering if the carpet bag that Maria (Julie Andrews) is swinging when walking down the road is the same carpet bag she used in "Mary Poppins." I tried to Google this info, but I can't find anything.
-- Debbie, Shaler
Q: I've noticed Ann Curry and Meredith Vieira routinely snubbing Natalie Morales on the "Today" show. They box her out in the banter and do not acknowledge her. What is the cause of this tension and does NBC think it's too subtle to be noticed?
-- Maria, 42, Murrysville
Q: Kenny Rogers was such a handsome country singer. What happened? He is not only unrecognizable, but freaky looking.
-- Sandra, 68 West Newton
Q: What is with this practice of commercials: Commercial #1 will air, then one or two more commercials will air, then it's back to Commercial #1 AGAIN!!!!!!! Same commercial as a few minutes prior!! Mattress World does this, Levin Furniture, MANY attorneys' ads, etc., etc., etc. It's VERY ANNOYING and not doing anything to make me buy/call them. I just MUTE their ads.
-- Georgia, 61, Pittsburgh
Q: My husband and I were shocked at the news of the release of Jon Burton from WTAE. He is by far the best sports news person on the local channels. There are other news people on that channel who would not be missed!
-- Joan, 61, Baden
Q: Do local TV reporters have the freedom to wear what they want on the air or do the news directors have a so-called dress code? I'm not asking as far as wearing something risque, but wearing something hard on the eyes. Over the last few weeks, Brenda Waters from KDKA has been wearing shirts that make your eyes cross when you look at her. One day, she had on this black and white printed top that was, shall we say, blinding against the TV backdrop, and this week, had this yellow printed top that was also loud. Brenda seems like such a nice lady, but her taste in clothes recently leaves something to be desired. She needs to tone down the wild color schemes before we all get dizzy watching her.
-- Don, East McKeesport
Q: Why do the young women on TV speak so quickly and quietly that it is impossible to hear them clearly, especially WTAE?
-- Tom, Mt. Lebanon
Q: Did Ken Rice have a cold this week? When I was watching Channel 2 news at 5 p.m. on Tuesday I noticed he sounded a little under the weather. Kristine and Jeff sounded fine though. Thanks for any information.
-- Nick, 33, Homer City
Q: Is Jeff Verszyla part-time? I have never seen anyone miss so much work.
-- Mike, 57, Clarion
Q: Is there a reason Stan Savran decided to go without his toupee on the Jan. 16 episode of "Savran on Sportsbeat"? (Not that you're Stan's personal hair stylist or anything.)
-- Mike, 20, Forest Hills
Q: Concerning WPXI and it's lopsided Sports coverage, particularly Steelers vs Pirates. Just last week, there was a story during the sports broadcast that discussed the Penguins' support of The Steelers. As the story was about to close, the reporter said the Penguins are happy to support "the other professional team in town." Given that comment and Mr. Fedko's overtly sarcastic reporting during last season, is it safe to assume WPXI has a beef with the Pirates' organization? It seems to me the TV news could find something positive to say about the home team even in such a tragic period in the Pirates' history. We are so happy The Steelers are headed to the Super Bowl again, but it seems all news in Pittsburgh has been overtaken by the event.
-- Tammy, 51, Clarion
Q: I could not agree more with Martha of Crafton regarding the replacement of level-headed and intelligent Mike LaPoint with squeaky voiced Julie Bologna. She desperately needs lessons in voice projection. What was WPXI thinking? I have stopped watching the weather when she is on. Bring back Mike!!
-- Charles, 80, Highland Park
Q: I read in a previous Q&A that the local news stations don't have enough time to tell complete news stories, so they give partial reports and expect you to wait an hour for the rest of the story. They might have more time if they didn't waste it on old, non-news stories. For example: Someone's death is news. Memorial services, funeral arrangements and how grieving relatives "are coping with their loss" three-to-five days later is not. These are private moments for friends and families. I'm not insensitive, but time would be better spent reporting complete stories. Am I the only one who thinks this way?
-- Gordon, 54, Pittsburgh
